Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Groan

Six months after putting General McChrystal in charge, the news this morning was that President Obama has finally made a decision about Afghanistan. No idea what that decision was as the White House will not divulge its actual content for another week. Is the man such a lightweight that merely having meetings and deciding something is national news?

What's next? This just in, after intense discussions with the highly trained White House chef corps, the President has opted for Cheddar instead of Swiss on his turkey club. The effects of this change on the Presidential Gastronomy should be known early next week.

5 comments:

Jim
said...

I don't understand. The media going to report what they choose to report. How does that make Obama a "lightweight"? Your accusation is akin to saying Reagan was a lighweight because the media reported that Nancy visited an astrologer.

The answer is "Yes, he's a lightweight, at least when it comes to foreign policy."

Compare this to how he handles an agenda item he's more comfortable with, like socialized medicine. He's been out in front of that issue, organized dozens of events and multiple prime time speeches to boost it, and pushed his agenda in multiple press conferences. But on the War on Terror, he's suddenly coy.

I would submit that after 8 years of one foreign policy blunder after another, a little introspection is appropriate (and from what I've seen, Glen Beck has organized more health care events than Obama).

All legislation originates in and is crafted by Congress. You could make the argument that legislators have some safety in numbers (which the president lacks), but to say that legislators are "not responsible for the final product" is false.

It should be noted that many Republicans (including many in Lincoln's cabinet) believed that Lincoln wasn't up to the task of president in 1861. The southern secession, the losses at Ft. Sumpter and the first Battle of Bull Run, Lincoln's continued support of McClellan after the failed peninsula campaign and his failure to emamcipate the slaves left many convinced that he was weak and ineffectual("lightweight", if you wish). Lincoln didn't have much to show for his efforts as president until summer, 1862.